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Arc/Story Master Plan: Template 1
So, for those of you that are planning to write a story for Battle Fantasia and/or other fan-fiction or even your own fiction, here’s a sample template Master Plan for you to gather all your plot and character ideas for the story you want to write. We will be using this template to fill out the main arc pages, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow it too, if you have a better organized one, or you just write off the seat of your pants. Master plan (A brief synopsis of the arc, containing the main ideas of it.) Arc authors and supervisors (List of authors who contribute to the arcs, as well as a “supervisor”, either the main proof-reader or editor of the arc, whose main job is to proof-read the stories and check if they fit in the main canon.) Characters (List of characters that will play a major role in the arc. Series characters will have links to their own pages from a relevant wiki, and notes concerning their role in the arc. Original characters will have a brief summary of them to detail their core concept and ideas. More detailed OC’s, or OC’s used in multiple arcs (such as Akiko?) would ideally have their own page on the wiki to link to) Protagonists: (Exactly what it says on the tin) Antagonists: (Exactly what it says on the tin, factions that directly oppose the protagonists) Other Factions: Characters and factions that are not direct protagonists or antagonists, but that do need to be taken into account for a certain story, e.g. The British Monarchy, or the American Government) Background information (Ideally divided into subsections, this will include any relevant background detail that needs to be known in order to write the story, such as summaries of important battles and causes, factions and their mythoses, notes about the arc that authors must follow, and other relevant material. Links to previous arcs and faction pages should be provided here.) Main Plot Points Prologue/Act 1: (Here goes a brief summary of what happens between the start/the previous climax point and the next, as well as key points that need to be set up in order for the next and future climax points to work. As long as the context and the key points leading to the climax point are included in this story, then anything can happen in the arc. A key point does not have to go into much details, as there may be multiple ways to get to it, just as long as they make sense and fit in with the climax point. Example of an arc can be the journey Gordon Freeman does through Route Kanal and Water Hazard to reach Black Mesa East, or Madoka and Sayaka’s first adventures with Mami from end of Ep. 1 to end of Ep. 3) Climax point: (Here goes a brief summary of a climax point. A climax point is a game-changer point in a story, and event or series of events that has far reaching consequences throughout the whole arc. They could represent the death of a character, or the defeat of an enemy, but also the discovery of something that can change people’s opinions radically or an important decision a character makes. For example, the climax points of the arcs mentioned above would be Black Mesa East being invaded and Mami’s head being bitten off, respectively) Act 2: (Same as above) Climax point: (Same as above) . . . ... Act n: (Same as above. The number of acts in the story depends on the number of climax points) n Climax point: (Same as above. You can have as many climax points as you want, but since these represent big, game-changing events in the whole arc, it’s probably best to keep these from entering double-digit numbers, unless you plan to write a doorstopper or a series using a common masterplan. Another important note: Ideally, a climax point should be related to the story you want to write. While an important event that happens further away from your narrative, such as the taking of a vital fortress in a war, may be important enough to be it’s own climax point, as a rule of thumb, unless said point directly relates to your character, your story, and the Point of View from which you are narrating, you should include it as part of background events rather than as a full climax point. For example, if your protagonist is miles away from the fortress as it was taken, then the taking of the fortress is not a climax point. If, however, your character was there, and the taking forces him to hide deep into enemy territory before he can get back to his allies, then it should be considered as a climax point ) Final Act : (Same as above, the build up to the grand finale of the story. If you don’t plan to continue any secondary storyline beyond this point, you should probably start thinking about wrapping them up before the final push.) Final Climax point: (The Grand Finale or your story. The same rules as per above climax point apply above, with a few additions: The ending must wrap up the main conflict of the arc in a way that makes sense for the whole story. Epicness is an option. In other words, please don’t rely on Ass Pulls or Deus Ex Machina to resolve the story as your climax points. You can, however, have the “summoning” of a Deus Ex Machina as the objective of the whole arc and the final climax point, but please be aware of the pitfalls of using it. A story that arguably does it well is the Touhou fanfic Reenactable Night. Another point to make is that you don’t have to tie up every conflict at the end. An ongoing, series long conflict or an unresolved bigger mystery are perfect viable ways to set up a sequel, just as long as you wrap up at least something in your story, or give a victory towards the main conflict in the story. If you promise the taking of a castle as the main conflict at the beginning of the story, then by the final climax point the castle should be taken, or the army besieging it should be forced to retreat by the valiant efforts of the defenders of the castle. As you can see, this does not necessarily mean the end of the war. Another example is the ‘suicide mission’ of Mass Effect 2 fame. It doesn’t stop the war with the Reapers, but it ends the collector threat.) Epilogue Act: (This act is dedicated to the post-Grand Finale events. Protagonists should be “rewarded” for their efforts with some time off, secondary storylines that are not “vital” to the following arcs should be tied up here, and any sequel hooks or stinger endings should be set up here. Ideally, this should be a “breather” act between two arcs, a time where the characters in the story can relax a little before their next stories and adventures grab them for another ride.) Sub-arcs (For main arcs, list of links to detailed sub-arcs, or arcs happening in other parts of the world than the main arc) List of stories (Links to snippets, full chapters, published full chapters, etc...)